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    長蛇の列に並ぶ (chōda no retsu ni narabu - to stand in a long queue)

    Grammar & Usage

    fixed expression (verb phrase)
    neutral

    How it works

    This phrase literally translates to 'to line up in a long snake's queue'. '長蛇 (chōda)' means 'long snake', used metaphorically to describe something long and winding. 'の (no)' is a possessive/attributive particle, '列 (retsu)' means 'line/queue', and 'に (ni)' is a particle indicating location or direction. '並ぶ (narabu)' is an intransitive verb meaning 'to line up' or 'to stand in a line'.

    Sample sentences

    人気店の前にはいつも長蛇の列に並ぶ客で溢れている。

    The front of the popular store is always overflowing with customers standing in a long queue.

    限定品の発売日には、人々は夜明け前から長蛇の列に並んだ。

    On the release day of the limited-edition item, people stood in a long queue from before dawn.

    イベント会場へ入るために、私たちは2時間も長蛇の列に並んだ。

    To enter the event venue, we stood in a long queue for two hours.

    Quick facts

    etymology:長蛇 (chōda) literally means 'long snake', illustrating the winding, lengthy nature of the queue. This is a common and vivid metaphor in Japanese.

    Mnemonic

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    Example

    人気店の前にはいつも長蛇の列に並ぶ客で溢れている。

    The front of the popular store is always overflowing with customers standing in a long queue.

    限定品の発売日には、人々は夜明け前から長蛇の列に並んだ。

    On the release day of the limited-edition item, people stood in a long queue from before dawn.

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